Hydraulically operated reclining chair



Oct. 4, 1938. T. E. THOMAS ET AL HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED RECLINING CHAIR Filed May 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct, 4, 1938.

T. E. THOMAS ET AL HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED RECLINING CHAIR Filed May 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwua/wtoms 77E Tomaa e Patented Oct. 4, 1938 HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED RECLIYNING HAIR Thomas E. Thomas and Hollie 'H. Phillips, Nash- ..ville, Tenn, assignors of one-third to C. R. Quarles, Nashville, Tenn.

ApplicationMay 1, 1937, Serial No. 140,228

, '5 Claims.

This invention relates/to reclining chairs such .as may ibelused in railway cars, busses, airplanes, etc and particularly to a chair which is operated by hydraulic means.

The general object of the invention is to provide a chair ofsa simple construction which is so designed that the user may cause the chair seat to recline at any desired angle within a :pre-determined range and hold it at this angle or raise the chair to an approximately horizontal position, and a further object in this connection is to provide hydraulically operated means for raising o-r lowering the chair to any desired elevation and simultaneously changing its inclination.

A further object in this connection is to provide means whereby the hydraulic pressure is automatically relieved immediately that the chair moves beyond a predetermined point, and another object is to provide spring means pivotall-y connecting the forward end of the chair seatwith a fixed support to thereby secure-a cushioning action against jars or vibrations. i i

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description. V

Our invention is illustrated in the "accompany ing drawings wherein: v r

Figure l is a side elevation out a chair con structed in accordance with our invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the base and plunger and showing the pump and connections from the pump to the base in elevation.

Figure 3 is a frontelevation of thechair shown in Figure 1. 1

Figure 4 is a sectional View of the relief valve. Referring to these drawings, l0 designatesa base which is, generally speaking, cylindrical in form but fiares outward and downward at its lower end, which lower end rests upon the-floor of the vehicle. Above the lower closed end ll of the base there is a transversely extending sep tum IE or wall which is formed with a central aperture I3. Extending upward from the wall 12 concentric to the outer wall of the base-t0 is the cylinder 14 into :the lower end of which the aperture I3 opens. The upper end of the base is closed by a cap l5having threaded engagement with the base and thecentenof thiscap is :formed with a plunger aperture andwith a'gland I 6 or stuffing box. Aplunger l7 .operatesjthroughthis gland .as shownclearly in Figure 2. "I he plunger may be of any suitable construction and provided with any suitable rings for preventing passageof liquid around the plunger and out through the gland iii. Theupper endofrthe plungerais formed .with a knuckle 1:8. Supported by the plunger is achairiseat .89 of a particular construction which will be hereafter stated, this chair seat having aback 2B. Extending .upward and outward from the front of the base lflarea plurality of brackets 21, the brackets being joined at their lower ends, the middle bracket extending directly upward and outward while the lateral brackets extend upward, outward and laterally, as shown in Figure 3. These brackets at their upper ends are formed with beads 22 through which a pin 23 passes. The seat of the chair includes longitudinally extending elements 24 of metal, the forward ends of which extend beyond the forward edge of the seat and extend outwardly, downwardly and inwardly, as at 25, (see Figure 1 and are then formed with eyes '26 through which the pin .23 passes. It will be seen that thus a hinge joint is provided between the brackets 2| and these extensions 25 of the chair seat. These extensions 25 are resiliently flexible. The center of the chair seat is provided with a downwardly extending clevis 26 which embraces the reduced portion 4-8 and is pivoted thereto by a pivot pin 21.

It will thus be seen that as the plunger ll rises, the chair will rise so that the seat will be carried up into an approximately horizontal position while when the plunger is lowered, the chair will be lowered from the full line position in Figure 1 toor toward the dotted line position in Figure 1, this action being permitted by the hinge joint 23.

Mounted upon the. plate H or in any other manner associated with the base I0 is a pump cylinder 28 having the usual plunger or piston 29 therein, this piston being connected by a shackle 36 to a transversely extending lever 31 pivotally mounted on a bracket 32 attached to the base, this bracket being disposed relatively close to the pump cylinder so that the lever 3| is formed with a short arm and a long arm. The long arm-extends transversely across beneath the chair and is connected by a link 33 to a bell crank lever 3d pivoted upon a transversely extending pivot rod :35 which may be welded, .bolted or otherwise attached to .the brackets 2|. One arm of this bell crank lever is upwardly extend- .ed to form .a long handle L35 extending up ,beyond the adjacent arm 36 of the chair.

As shown inxFigure .2, the space between. the y vouter .wall 10 of the base and the cylinder l4 constitutes a reservoir designated 31. Thischamber 5.31, is connected by a pipe 38 to the lower end of ;the pump cylinder .28 and .disposed within the length of this pipe or duct .38 is alcheck valve 1 this having an upwardly extending branch dis-- charging into the space below the partition or wall I2 and thus discharging throughthe aperture 13 into the space below the plunger H. A

check valve shown diagrammatically in Figure 2 and designated 42 is disposed in the length of this pipe 40 and acts, of course, to permit the discharge of liquid from the pump into the base below the plunger but prevents the return of this liquid upon an upward movement of the pump plunger or piston.

Leading from the third branch of the T 4| is a pipe 43 which is connected to a valve casing 44 which in turn has a pipe connection 45 with the interior of the reservoir .31. The valve 46 disposed in this valve casing is mounted upon a spindle 41 carrying an outwardly extending arm 48. This arm is connected by a link 49 to a lever 50 pivoted upon a transverse pivot rod 5| which may also be spot-welded, pinned or otherwise rigidly connected to the brackets 2|. This lever 50 has an upwardly and rearwardly extending arm 52 which terminates at its upper end in a knob 53 which is disposed above the chair arm 36, as shown in Figure 1. The upper end of this arm 52 is disposed immediately in front of a laterally projecting member 54 shownas formed upon or as part of the arm 36 of the chair. -A spring 55 urges the arm 48 to a horizontal position and in this position of the parts, the valve 46 is closed and does not afford communication between theinterior of the reservoir 31 and the relief pipe 43. When, however, the handle 52 of lever 50 is shifted upward and forward, it causes the relief valve 46 to turn to a position connecting the interior of the reservoir with relief pipe 45. This permits the plunger ll to descend and forces all the liquid beneath the plunger out through the T 41 into the pipe 43 and thus back into the reservoir. 7 l

It will thus be seen that the reservoir is selfcontained within the base and the chair requires no connections to any other reservoir or tank.

The body of the chair may, of course, be of any suitable material or any particular construction desired but, as illustrated, the body of the chair consists of an exterior U-shaped frame 56 having cross-bars 51 to which the upper ends of the metallic strips 24 are attached, the frame 56 being angularly extended or horizontally extended so as to form the frame for the seat of the chair and being connected by a transverse crossbar 58 over which the strips 24 extend, and to which the arm rests 36 are connected, as shown in Figure 3. The strips 24 are resilient so as to provide a cushioning action and obviously the chair might be upholstered if desired, or have any other desired structure.

' The operation of this structure will be obvious from what has gone before. When it is desired that the chair seat shall be horizontal, the sitter operates the pump handle 35, causing liquid to be forced in beneath the plunger Ill and this raises the chair seat, the forward end of the seat pivoting upon the transverse rod 23. When the plunger H has risen as far as it should, the element 54 .tion. If the occupant desires to lower the chair to or toward the dotted line position in Figure l, the occupant lifts up on the handle 53 which opens the relief valve and the plunger I! then moves downward until the occupant of the chair moves the knob 53 back to its normal position, which closes the relief valve and again the plunger will beheld in its adjusted position. With this mechanism, it is obvious that the chair may be raised toa horizontal position or lowered to a fully inclined position or to an intermediate position at the will of the operator. It is also obvious that the curved springs or resilient portions of the metallic strips 24 not only constitute pivotal supports for the forward end of the chair and constitute springs partially supporting the chair but as these spring portions 25 extend outward, downward and inward in a curve, they form rounded surfaces beneath the knees of an occupant.

While we have illustrated one particular form of chair and certain specific arrangement of parts yet, of course, it will be understood that different types of chairs might be used and that the arother places where sitting is required for long periods of time. 7

What is claimed is:-

1. In a reclinable chair having a seat, the combination of a base, means on'the base piv- .otally supporting the front of the seat, hydraulic means'for raising the seat to a horizontal position, manually operable means for operating the hydraulic means and including an operating lever extending upward beside the seat and closely sure in the, hydraulic means to permit the descent of the seat to a rearwardly and downwardly inclined position, means yieldingly urging the relief valveto a closed position, a manually operable lever operatively connected to the relief valve and constructed and arranged to shift the relief valve to an open position against the action of said urging means, and coacting means on the chair and lever constructed and arranged to cause an automatic operation of the lever and the relief valve when the rear end of the chair has lifted beyond apredetermined point and until the chair has descended slightly.

2. A reclinable chair comprising a base, a bracket extending upward and forward from the base, a chair seat operatively pivoted to the bracket at its forward end, hydraulic means for supporting the seat in a horizontal position, including an hydraulically operated plunger pivotally connected to the seat, a-relief valve yieldingly urged to a position normally preventing reverse 'movement of the liquid beneath the plunger, a

manually operable pump, means disposed closely adjacent the chair seat for operating the pump adjacent thereto, a relief valve for relieving pres lever disposed closely adjacent the seat and operative to open the relief valve, and means for automatically operating said lever to open the relief valve when the rear end of the chair has risen to a predetermined point and until the chair has descended slightly.

3. A reclinable chair, including a hollow base formed to provide a central cylinder and a surrounding reservoir, a vertically movable plunger operating in the cylinder, a bracket extending upward and forward from the base, a chair having a seat and a back, the middle of the seat being operatively. pivoted to and supported by the plunger, the forward end of the seat being operatively pivoted to said bracket, a pump carried by the base at one side thereof, the pump having an inlet pipe leading from the reservoir and an outlet pipe having a branch leading into the plunger cylinder, a relief pipe extending into the reservoir and connected to the outlet pipe of the pump, a relief valve in the relief pipe yieldingly urged to a closed position, a transversely extending, lever operatively pivoted intermediate its ends to the base and at one end operatively connected to the pump, a bell crank lever having a short arm connected to the long arm of the transverse lever and having its long arm extending upward in close proximity to the seat, a second manually operable lever operatively connected to the relief valve and having an arm extending up beside the chair of the seat, the chair and lever having coacting means constructed and arranged to shift the lever to a position to open the relief valve when the rear end of the chair has been lifted to a predetermined point and hold the relief valve open until the chair has slightly descended.

4. In an hydraulically operated reclinable chair, a valve which when opened permits the descent of the rear end of the chair, means urging the relief valve to a closed position, and manually controllable means connected to the relief valve whereby the relief valve may be manually opened, said means extending into the path of movement of a part of the chair and beingconstructed and arranged to be engaged by the chair when it is in an approximately horizontal position to thereby open the relief valve and permit the chair to descend slightly.

5. A reclinable chair, including a base, a bracket extending upward and forward from the base, a chair seat having outwardly and downwardly curved resilient members at its forward end pivotally connected to said bracket, and manually controllable means whereby the chair seat may be raised from a downwardly and rearwardly inclined position to a horizontal position or lowered to a downwardly and rearwardly inclined position.

THOMAS E. THOMAS. I-IOLLIE H. PHILLIPS. 

